The method for use for cleaning is illustrated below
Immediately after picking up the sections, remove all unused sections with a hair curl on an eyelash. Then clean the knife edge as follows:
- Empty the boat, dry carefully with filter paper (without touching the knife edge!) and remount it in the ultramicrotome knife stage.
- Take one of our polystyrene sticks and bevel it to an angle of approx. 60° using an oil free razor blade.
- Dip the rod into 70-80% ethanol and shake off the excess.
- Pass the rod over the cutting edge without applying pressure.
Mechanical cleaning as mentioned above is absolutely necessary after cutting poorly polymerized blocks (i.e. Lowicryl polymerized in a freeze substitution apparatus).
For the cleaning of Cryo Knives :
- Remove the knife from the cryo chamber (before heating the chamber up!).
- Rinse the knife under tap water to warm it up.
- Dip the polystyrene rod in 50% ethanol.
- Pass the rod over the cutting edge without applying pressure.
- Dry the knife with a dust blower or canned air.
